Investigation of the correlation between inappropriate hospitalization and hospital stay rate: an application in medical clinics of a military hospital

BACKGROUND: Medical services play a major role in hospital facilities. Along with the medical applications and diagnoses, physicians affect the hospital costs by 70% to 80%. Therefore, the hospital administrators should establish some systems that can modify the current application models of physicians. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the appropriateness of hospitalization days and length of stay of the patients in 13 internal clinics in a military hospital. STUDY DESIGN: 5,205 patient days belonging to 416 patients were evaluated by Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol. Patients' data were retrospectively collected by using a "data collection form" through patients' files and then were evaluated by frequencies and percentage distributions. RESULTS: The unnecessary hospitalization rate and unnecessary stay rate were 4.8% and 15.75%, respectively. The highest unnecessary hospitalization rates were in nuclear medicine (50%). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the inappropriate hospitalization rate and inappropriate stay rates were 4.8% and 15.75%, respectively.     

Primary intraspinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor: case report of a tumor arising from the sacral spinal nerve root and review of the literature

Primary spinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) is a rare condition, 18 cases of which have been reported in the literature. In general, this tumor is treated with surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but prognosis is still poor. An 18-year-old female patient with an intradural, extramedullary mass at L3-L5 levels is presented in this report. This is the first female patient with primary spinal PNET at lumbar region, second patient with spinal nerve root origin, and third one with intradural, extramedullary localization ever reported in the literature. After surgery, she was treated with craniospinal radiotherapy and four cycles of combination chemotherapy regimen consisting of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin alternated with ifosfamide, and VP-16. Currently, she is asymptomatic and alive at 25 months. The histopathologic, radiologic, and clinical findings of the patient are presented and relevant literature is reviewed.     

Pemphigus vulgaris localized to the nose and cheeks

Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by disseminated bullae and erosions of the mucosal surfaces and skin. Cases of pemphigus vulgaris with localized lesions on glabrous skin have been reported, and most of them have been attributed to the Koebner phenomenon. Lesions limited to the nose have mostly been described in pemphigus foliaceus, but the nose has also been the initial site of pemphigus vulgaris in a few patients. We report 4 cases of localized pemphigus vulgaris: one case with lesions limited to the nose and cheeks and 3 cases with isolated lesions on the nose. Recurrent episodes in these patients also occurred on the nose. None of them showed mucosal involvement or dissemination during a follow-up period of 2 to 9 years. Three patients had autoantibodies against desmoglein-3 as detected by immunoblot. In the other patient, antibodies against desmoglein-3 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These localized lesions may represent a subgroup of pemphigus vulgaris or a period of limited activity during this chronic disease.     

Is 100% beating heart coronary by-pass justified?

Coronary by-pass on a beating heart may provide a safer form of surgical revascularization by avoiding the well-documented side effects of cardiopulmonary by-pass. In addition, off-pump bypass is suggested to be a good alternative to on-pump especially in high risk patients. This study reviews the feasibility of coronary by-pass on the beating heart in all patients referred to surgery. Two hundred and ninety-four patients operated on the beating heart were prospectively followed and compared to the control group of 100 consecutive patients operated with the conventional method. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to risk factors, except the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ejection fraction which were higher in the conventional group, whereas peripheral vascular disease was higher in the beating heart group. There was more distal anastomosis in the conventional group. Postoperative inotrope requirement, peak creatine phosphokinase- MB, ventilation time, blood loss in the first 24 h, transfusion needs, new atrial fibrillation and length of hospital stay were significantly lower in the beating heart operations. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of neurological complications, chest infection, intraaortic balloon pump usage and mortality. In conclusion, multivessel off pump coronary by-pass is feasible with the same or better results as it is observed in the conventional technique when postoperative bleeding, neurogenic complications, arrythmias, hospital stay, overall morbidity and mortality are compared.     

Reconstruction of the middle cerebral artery after excision of a giant fusiform aneurysm

A patient with a giant fusiform aneurysm of the left inferior trunkus of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is presented. The size of the aneurysm was 5 cm at its largest diameter. Retrograde flow was well developed. After the application of temporary clips the aneurysm was excised and microsurgical reconstructions were undertaken. Adequate flow in the reconstructed MCA trunkus was maintained. This rare case is discussed in the light of the literature.     

Can cystatin C be a better marker for the early detection of renal damage in primary hypertensive patients?

In this study, we aimed to compare Cystatin C (Cys C) with other traditional glomerular filtration rate (GFR) markers and to evaluate its superiority over them in detecting early renal involvement in patients with primary hypertension. Fifty-one primary hypertensive patients and 29 healthy control subjects, who were similar in terms of age and gender, were included in the study. In all subjects serum levels of Cys C, beta-2 microglobulin, serum creatinine (SCr), uric acid, BUN, albumin; 24 h urinary levels of protein (Upro), albumin (Ualb) and creatinine were measured. The GFR was calculated according to Creatinine Clearance (CrCl), Cockcroft-Gault (CG) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formulas. The MDRD was used as the reference method. A GFR<80 mL/min/1.73 m2 was considered as the lower cut-off limit. Mean levels of the serum parameters were found to be significantly higher in the patient group than they were in the control group (p<0.05). Mean CrCl, CG, and MDRD levels were lower in patients than they were in controls but the difference was statistically significant for CG and MDRD. The serum parameter having the best correlation with MDRD was SCr (r = -0.760) in patients and Cys C (r = -0.622) in controls. However, in ROC analysis; the area under curve (AUC) for Cys C was found to be superior (AUC = 0.900) to the other markers. The CrCl was the parameter having the worst diagnostic efficiency (AUC = 0.598). As a conclusion, compared to other traditional markers, measurement of Cys C may be a better parameter to estimate GFR, especially to detect mild reductions of GFR in primary hypertensive patients.     

A peripheric neuromodulation technique for curing detrusor overactivity: Stoller afferent neurostimulation

OBJECTIVE: To perform Stoller afferent neurostimulation (SANS) with and without a low-dose anticholinergic (oxybutynin hydrochloride) in patients with detrusor overactivity and compare the results obtained with the two therapeutic approaches. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 43 patients with symptoms of detrusor overactivity (frequency, urgency, urge incontinence) underwent urodynamic studies (UDS). Those in whom UDS revealed phasic detrusor overactivity were evaluated using a quality of life questionnaire and voiding diaries. Patients were randomized into two groups: Group 1 received SANS alone; Group 2 received SANS combined with a low-dose anticholinergic (5 mg of oral oxybutynin hydrochloride). Both groups were re-evaluated following 8 weeks of therapy. RESULTS: There were 21 patients in Group 1 and 22 in Group 2. The treatment response rate was 61.6% and 83.2% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. In both groups, the best symptomatic improvements were obtained in patients with urge incontinence. The percentage decreases in the mean number of symptoms of frequency and urgency were 36.7% and 46.1%, respectively in Group 1 and 44.2% and 61.1%, respectively in Group 2. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the effects on frequency and urgency between the two groups. The anticholinergic drug was well tolerated by all patients in Group 2. One patient reported local tenderness, and a small hematoma developed in another following SANS therapy. CONCLUSION: SANS is an easy and inexpensive therapeutic method with low morbidity in patients with an overactive bladder. Combination with a low-dose anticholinergic increases the success rate without causing any significant side-effects.     

Ventral cervicomedullary junction compression secondary to condylus occipitalis (median occipital condyle), a rare entity

OBJECTIVE: Condylus occipitalis is presented in postmortem anatomic studies. There is no clinical study in the literature. Myelopathy due to anomalies of the craniovertebral junction is rare in neurosurgical practices. To our knowledge, myelopathy due to condylus occipitalis has not been reported before. Deaths of two cases were previously reported, but these were not live cases. METHODS: We describe the case of a 40-year-old woman presenting with progressive myelopathy related to condylus occipitalis located in the anterior foramen magnum region. RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed the condylus occipitalis, marked stenosis of the spinal canal at the level of the atlas, with cord compression and evidence of myelopathy. We performed posterior decompression without fusion and duraplasty. Because the cervicomedullary compression syndrome was not resolved, a transoral decompression could not be done owing to pulmonary insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS: This unique clinical article (a live case), not anatomic, presents a very rare abnormality of the craniovertebral junction. Myelopathy is a very important complication of this congenital craniovertebral junction abnormality. Posterior decompression seems not to be effective for myelopathy due to condylus occipitalis. In our opinion, anterior decompression is needed in this condition. A larger series will be needed to better define its role in the management of this anomaly.